Streamside Bird Monitoring Protocol for the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Version 1.0 - Unpublished Draft Protocol

Mattsson, Brady; Marshall, Matthew

One of the primary objectives of the ecological monitoring (“vital signs”) program in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network (ERMN) is to evaluate status and trends in the condition of watersheds flowing into and through network parks. Louisiana Waterthrush (LOWA; Seiurus motacilla) monitoring was recognized as top priority at the network level during the vital signs prioritization process. This is the only bird species in the ERMN that depends on flowing waters for food and reproduction. LOWAs may respond to the composition of the benthic macroinvertebrate community given that they are more likely to occupy streams with a prey biomass containing a higher proportion of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera), many of which decline following human impacts such as sedimentation or acidification. LOWA are also more likely to occur along streams embedded within wide (e.g., > 80 m) tracts of older (e.g., > 50 years) deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forest. Degradation of stream resources and/or fragmentation of forest resources may negatively impact LOWA. Thus, LOWA can serve as indicators of local riparian ecosystem integrity. Monitoring other breeding bird species was identified initially as a lower priority vital sign for the ERMN. However, bird community monitoring can be efficiently and cost effectively incorporated into a LOWA monitoring protocol. Hence, the decision to develop a “streamside bird” protocol for both LOWA and other riparian breeding birds. This protocol will provide the ERMN and park managers with comprehensive long-term data about the status and trends in the bird community along headwater streams including the possible effects of ecological and anthropogenic stressors. Permanent transects will be used to document changes in the bird community over time while accounting for species detectability. The justification, rationale, field methods, operational requirements, and data handling procedures are described herein and, in detail, in 10 standard operating procedures. Availability of these monitoring data will increase manager knowledge, improve their ability to steward park resources, and allow them to adjust to and mitigate threats to the park’s riparian resources. The proposed monitoring strategy attempts to balance the immediate requirements of managers for current information against the necessity for insight into the changes occurring in bird communities and other watershed conditions over time.

Streamside Bird Monitoring Protocol for the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network: Version 1.0 - Unpublished Draft Protocol

Other versions